When they write up my entry in Wikipedia, I’ll go down as the inventor of the fajita casserole.
As you may know by now, I’m a recipe follower. I don’t want to be, but I am. I wish I could be one of those people who just “throw something together.” It’s going to take some practise. My office-mate told me about some neighbors who just “throw something together” every night. She did that with them one night and the results were delicious, she said. They sautéed onions and garlic, added coconut milk, curry powder, and a ton of spinach. They ate it over quinoa. Sounds good and I might try it some night. But tonight, inspired by that story that made throwing together sound so simple and fun, it was time for me to try my own invention; to take a baby step toward becoming a thrower together.
I started with the loose idea of fajitas. These would be veggie fajitas and I bought some fajita-fu, a baked tofu product made in Wisconsin by the Simple Soyman. I also wanted to use some corn tortillas that had been in the freezer for awhile — that’s why I couldn’t just make fajitas, I needed to hide the old tortillas in a casserole.
I started by sautéeing onions and red pepper for about ten minutes, then added a small zucchini and cooked another ten minutes. Finally, I added my chopped up fajita-fu. Meanwhile, I made some rice. I had a random packet of Ortega fajita seasoning that I’d accidentally bought when I meant to buy taco seasoning. I put half of it and some water in my onions/pepper/zucchini/tofu. I mixed in the cooked rice. Then I assembled my casserole by layering tortillas, rice mixture, tortillas, rice mixture. Finally, I had some sour cream I wanted to use up. I mixed it with some salsa and spread it over the top. Then I sprinkled on a little cheddar and put it in the oven for twenty or so minutes.
And there you have it: veggie fajita casserole.
Yeah for me, I finally threw something together! Ben said I was beaming. And the tofu was hidden in enough stuff that he actually ate it. It wasn’t haute cuisine, but it was easy and fun and edible. I think this dish is worth throwing together again. But wait, would that being following a recipe? Ach, I’ll just throw it together a little differently.
